The Baseball America staffers did something I think is kind of neat, a prospect dream draft. If a player was in this year’s handbook, they were available to draft. The Cardinals had only 8 players drafted, tied with the Yankees and Nationals for the 2nd lowest amount of players drafted. The Astros just had four. Snarketty, snark snark.
- 5th round, 47th overall Shelby Miller
- 11th round, 120th Jaime Garcia
- 19th round, 200th Eduardo Sanchez
- 19th round, 204th Lance Lynn
- 23th round, 247th David Freese
- 24th round, 260th Allen Craig
- 25th round, 274th Francisco Samuel
- 28th round, 300th Robert Stock
Notably absent: Daryl Jones.
Compare this draft to BA’s prospect rankings for the organization:
1. Shelby Miller, rhp
2. Jaime Garcia, lhp
3. Lance Lynn, rhp
4. Daryl Jones, of
5. David Freese, 3b/1b
6. Eduardo Sanchez, rhp
7. Allen Craig, of/1b/3b
8. Blake Hawksworth, rhp
9. Daniel Descalso, 2b
10. Robert Stock, c
Drafted but not in top ten: Francisco Samuel.
Lesson: Fastball velocity is a lot more appealing than a low-ceiling, high-floor player like Descalso. Stock was also taken over Descalso.
I’m still not sure why no DJ Tools. I am starting to think we’re the only ones excited about him, which in turn makes me less excited about him, I think.
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DJ tools(Dont know where this nickname came from he does nothing better then avg) is terrible. Dont know what the fuss is about with him. He had 1 OK year.
Who is “we” when it comes to DJ? When he shows me some power I’ll show him some love.
I’d be excited about him if he could play RF. But w. Colby set and solid in CF and Holliday in left, DJ just seems like one more guy competing for a job as 4th or 5th outfielder. And it’s hard to imagine he’ll beat out more well-rounded guys like Jay and Henley.
Plus we have Adron Chambers and Curt Smith pushing up from PB — two other guys who profile as LF/1B/bench players.
>>Plus we have Adron Chambers and Curt Smith pushing up from PB — two other guys who profile as LF/1B/bench players.<<
Adron Chambers profiles as LF/1B? Come on. Back to DJ. I know DJ had essentially a lost season due to injury in 2009 but I'm not ready to throw the guy under the bus after playing in the future game last year and only being 22 (23 in June). The important thing is demonstrating that he can play CF and staying healthy for a complete season. He's probably blocked in STL as no one thinks his arm plays in RF but he could turn into a nice trade chip with a solid 2010 or move himself into the mix for a bench spot with the Cards in 2011.
Trade? Teams are not stupid. Why cause he is young? What does he do on a baseball field? He is a Good Org Player. No chance @ being an Impact guy in MLB. emergency call up @ best.
Ya, I’ll take a results guy like Craig everytime over a “tools” guy like DJ. When you hear about a guy having all the “tools” it usually means they look good in the airport but can’t play on the field.
@jjray: Okay, I should’ve written that Chambers profiles as a LF, Smith profiles as LF/1B, and both guys seem more likely to be bench players.
On Jones being a trade chip….I think jjray’s point is that if he could re-establish himself as a top prospect, *then* he could be a trade chip. Jones needs to have a good year after having a lost season, and that seems to have soured people on him. Which I don’t agree with…a bad season in his first full year at the AA hindered by injury does not consitute a lost prospect. His first full year in Single A ball also was bad, before he adjusted and earned himself a promotion to Springfield the next season.
Not every prospect develops the same.
DJ – KLAW ranked him in the top 50 right? Prospect volatility is outrageous. Look at Desmond Jennings of the Rays – at the beginning of the 09 season everyone was down on him b/c he had a rough 08. Now he is easily a top 10 prospect. I think DJ is similar. He could be a top 10 prospect next year, and if he is limited to LF or CF (which he appears to be) — who cares? There are plenty of teams that would take Jennings off the Rays hands… and Colby could always play in right….
The BA draft is a joke in that respect – I’m sure there were other “clear misses” like Jones. There is no way he should go past 200.
As far as Jones’s tools. What are they? Lacks power, Arm is terrible, is avg hitter @ best, Avg runner and Avg Fielder @ best. How does this equate to a prospect? If you do things on a baseball field avg or Below avg the stats must be really good Ala Craig. Thats why in My opinion Craig is a prospect and DJ is a good Org Player.
Simple Baseball Politics.
Farm Directors over hype prospects to try and make the system look good and push certain players. Owners only know what they read and what the Minor league staff tells them. The Red Sox are Pro’s @ Over Hyping there prospects. Cardinals are not to blame, All clubs do it. they just are not fooling Me or Many of the 29 other teams in MLB.
6 62 Badler Arodys Vizcaino RHP NYY
He’s actually with the Braves now, as he was part of the Javier Vasquez trade.
That puts us ahead of the Yankees 8-7.
Its funny how some of you guys jump on the DJ Tools band wagon and now that he had and injury you guys write him off like he is a lost prospect… Carlos since when is a .316 avg. with a .406 OBP and a 483 slg. percentage just an ok year… U dont put up those kind of numbers with luck. If the organization thinks he is an impact player then they obviously see something on an everyday basis that you dont… He is still young and a very good player… Last time i checked he made the Texas League Allstar game and the Futures Game during a supposedly down season… So he was obvioulsy putting up so kind of numbers to make t
those games…
The Differance between a Impact Player and a avg player is CONSISTENCY. Craig has shown it. Others like Ottavino, Samuel, riefer have not been very consistent but @ least they have tools to Talk about Ott Riefer and Samuel have great Arms. What Does DJ have other then 1 good year out of 5 he has been in system. oh yea he is young. that is getting old
Wow…little surprised over all the DJ bashing! Take a look at the whole picture here. First off yes…he has had 1 really productive year out of 5 that a few have mentioned. But what your missing is this. He was considered a VERY raw baseball player that was extremely athletic when drafted in ’05. Guys like these sometimes transition to solid baseball players and some never do but are still great athletes. But it takes usually 3-4 yrs to know which one you have. So you can’t judge DJ on his first 3 years in the minors because he was just learning how to be a baseball player. So you have to look at his last 2 years really. 1 was a extremely good year and one was not horrible but was injury plagued. When you have guy with good speed and he battles a quad injury that takes away a big asset for him. I have read many scouting reports on this kid. A few things are fairly consistent: He has 2 plus tools contact and speed. He also has a little pop in his bat (not a power hitter) so potentially a 15-20 HR guys in his prime. But I see more of a doubles hitter and stretching out doubles to triples on occasion. The weaknesses are is arm strength and general OF play (footwork and reads). The footwork and reads continue to improve as you play more and more and have good coaches instructing you. But the arm strength is the killer. He is limited to CF or LF due to it and if you haven’t noticed he has very little opportunity in STL to play those positions. So he would have to settle for a 4th OF spot in STL if he makes it to the bigs. But yes…if he is healthy and has a productive year in AA/AAA this year then he could definitely be a trading chip or a candidate for a bench spot next year.
Jones was hurt this past season. It was a waste. It will be interesting to see what he can do at AA when healthy. He does not seem a great base-stealer, so improving his hitting is his ticket to the Show. He could become a productive .300 avg, 10 HR hitter.
Adron chambers can play all three OF spots. I would think his main value would be in CF.
While I’m all in favor of injecting sanity in the daryl jones hype, it seems like the pendulum has swung too far toward “hate”. One of the luxuries of having a $120M LF is that daryl jones can develop at his own pace.